Celebrating 20 years of the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage

Attending the conference were Mr. Pham Gia Tuc, Secretary of Nam Dinh Provincial Party Committee; Ms. Le Thi Thu Hien, Director of the Department of Cultural Heritage, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism; Mr. Tran Le Doai, Vice Chairman of Nam Dinh Provincial People's Committee; Associate Professor, Dr. Dang Van Bai, Vice Chairman of the National Cultural Heritage Council.

The Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage was adopted by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 2003 (the 2003 Convention). On September 5, 2005, Vietnam officially joined and became one of the first 30 countries to join this important international convention, marking the integration and defining the international role of Vietnam in the field of intangible heritage with UNESCO and other countries around the world.

Drum performance to welcome the conference (Photo: HH).

Speaking at the ceremony, Mr. Tran Le Doai, Vice Chairman of Nam Dinh Provincial People's Committee said: "Located in the center of the Southern Red River Delta, in the historical process of the nation, Nam Dinh land contains many cultural values ​​of the Vietnamese people; including the worship of Saint Tran (Holy Father) and Saint Mother Lieu Hanh (Holy Mother) - 2 indigenous beliefs with profound humanistic values, deeply imprinted in the consciousness of the people of the whole country with the proverb "August is the death anniversary of the Father, March is the death anniversary of the Mother".

Nam Dinh province is considered the center of Mother Goddess worship with typical relics such as: Phu Day relic complex (Vu Ban), Phu Quang Cung - Phu Nap relic (Y Yen), ... and many other Mother Goddess worshiping places.

"The practice of the Vietnamese Mother Goddess Worship" was recognized as a representative intangible cultural heritage of humanity, affirming the great global values ​​of the heritage, contributing to the richness and diversity of human culture, reflecting the country's proactive and active integration with the international community.

2023 marks the 20th anniversary of the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. The Convention aims to preserve, conserve, disseminate and promote the value of intangible cultural heritage in human life, increase awareness and participation of local and national communities; and promote international cooperation and support in this field.

The Convention has had great success as the world has emphasized the importance of intangible cultural heritage.

At the ceremony, Ms. Le Thi Thu Hien, Director of the Department of Heritage, emphasized that Vietnam has always been an active and responsible member in implementing and promoting the development of the convention in Vietnam.

Up to now, after 18 years of participating in the convention, Vietnam has had 15 intangible cultural heritages recorded by the Committee on the list of representative intangible cultural heritages and the list of intangible cultural heritages in need of urgent protection.

Ms. Le Thi Thu Hien, Director of the Department of Heritage, spoke at the conference (Photo: HH).

Up to now, Vietnam has nearly 70,000 intangible cultural heritages that have been inventoried. Of these, 500 intangible cultural heritages have been included in the National Intangible Cultural Heritage List by the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, 15 heritages have been recognized by UNESCO in the lists including: 13 intangible cultural heritages in the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity and 2 intangible cultural heritages in the List of Intangible Cultural Heritages in Need of Urgent Safeguarding, distributed in almost all provinces and cities.

Besides, 1,881 individuals were awarded the title of People's Artisan and Meritorious Artisan.

With the continuous efforts, responsibility and love of artisans, heritage practicing communities, authorities at all levels and society for intangible cultural heritage, through strengthening the implementation and improvement of laws on cultural heritage, strong commitment to implementing the 2003 UNESCO Convention, Vietnam has been contributing experience as well as demonstrating efforts and responsibility in protecting intangible cultural heritage of humanity; contributing to enhancing the position and image of the country in the international arena.

In particular, Vietnam has always been an active and responsible member of UNESCO and the 2003 Convention, as well as strongly contributing to the protection of cultural diversity and sustainable development of intangible cultural heritage in the world.

Source link: https://dantri.com.vn/van-hoa/ky-niem-20-nam-cong-uoc-bao-ve-di-san-van-hoa-phi-vat-the-cua-unesco-20231129154314859.htm